Already a familiar face in the circles forming a desi Charlies Angels troika with childhood besties and fellow star kids Suhana Khan and Shanaya Kapoor, Ananya Pandey’s entry in Bollywood was a foregone conclusion.
But it was only when actor Chunky Pandey and his model wife Bhavana’s elder daughter was formally launched by Karan Johar’s Dharma Production in Student Of The Year 2, Ananya’s privilege would make its presence felt for better and worse.
Moving forward with the tag of ‘nepo baby’ while trying to prove your worth to a world eager to pull you down for having things offered on a platter can be tough and Ananya’s foot-in-the-mouth syndrome didn’t really help her cause. Only turns out she’s more thick-skinned than she gets credit for and let her goof-ups be her grounding exercise.
It took a while but even her worst critics have come around to acknowledging her talent.
So far, her appeal’s limited to OTT but with Kesari 2, the 26 year old charms the big screen as well.
Sukanya Verma ranks Ananya’s performances in ascending order, and asks you to vote!
10. Liger
More than the contact sport actually, Liger is interested in showing Ananya in an imbecilic light.
Whatever good she accomplished in Gehraiyaan is undone as Tania, a social media-obsessed airhead, luring the hero by flaunting her figure and fluttering her eyelashes.
Read the rest of the review here.
Like her performance? Vote!
9. Dream Girl 2
‘Lawyer girlfriend aka Papa Ki Pari aka romantic sidekick with zero say or sense.’
Ananya’s role is so inconsequential in Dream Girl’s crummy sequel, the review doesn’t even bother giving it any mention.
OG leading lady Nushrratt Bharuccha need not sulk about sitting this one out.
Read the rest of the review here.
Like her performance? Vote!
8. Khaali Peeli
Ishaan and Ananya, bless their enthusiasm, have a ball play-acting.
The latter sounds like a parrot rattling off trashy street talk by memorising Rangeela.
Read the rest of the review here.
Like her performance? Vote!
7. Student of the Year 2
Newcomer Ananya Panday has a zappy energy, although she looks like she’s stepped straight out of la la land.
Her Hindi sounds like it was lying on the shelf all these years and gathering dust.
But at least her ineptitude is worth noting.
Read the rest of the review here.
Like her performance? Vote!
6. Kesari Chapter 2
Despite her best intentions and wide-eyed idealism, Ananya’s lady lawyer is reduced to a glossy side-kick looking for breakthroughs in heritage buildings and dusty files.
Read the rest of the review here.
Like her performance? Vote!
5. Pati Patni Aur Woh
Ananya’s smarts and easygoingness in a role that has a history of being buried under the weight of gullibility make for a nice change of pace.
Read the rest of the review here.
Like her performance? Vote!
4. Gehrayiyaan
Ananya’s fragility hits hard when she starts sensing the rot in her relationship.
Read the rest of the review here.
Like her performance? Vote!
3. Call Me Bae
A delightful ditz in designer dreams calling the ‘ullu‘ her spirit animal and goofing up on the teleprompter by spelling XI Jinping as Eleven Jinping, making cute faces at a roomie expecting her to clean the mess, putting a cad in his place by reverse shaming, rolling eyes at every ‘wokeness ki dukaan‘, Ananya is quite a riot as Bae.
Read the rest of the review here.
Like her performance? Vote!
2. Kho Gaye Hum Kahan
Ananya’s flawless portrayal of an anxious woman in her 20s alternates between moving and self-effacing at such a stunning pace, it’s high time the girl got her due.
Read the rest of the review here.
Like her performance? Vote!
1. CTRL
Poster Girl of Gen Z world and woes, Ananya bares her vulnerability before the camera from all possible angles, never once conscious of the unflattering closeups, in a performance that looks her back in the face while curled up in a corner.
She’s done proving. It’s time to take the acting adventure, heads on, girl.
Read the rest of the review here.
Like her performance? Vote!
